Allegro: A Magical Journey Through 11 Musical Masterpieces

Allegro is a favorite in our studio! The book follows the story of young Allegro, a piano student who grows frustrated practicing one day and is carried off into far away musical lands. Vibrant illustrations by Anita Barghigiani transport the reader right along with Allegro as he discovers new lands (“New World Symphony” by Dvorak), experiences deep sorrow (“Adagio in G Minor” by Albinoni), triumphantly enters a city (“Great Gate of Kiev” by Mussorgsky), and many more! Each page spread is represented by a button on the side that plays the correlating musical excerpt, each of which is long enough to give readers a decent introduction to the piece. My students and I loved reading this as part of our Piano Expeditions piano camp, To Italy with Vivaldi and His Four Seasons. I created little tokens with each button image and distributed them to the students so they could take turns pushing the corresponding button. The story concludes with Allegro back at his piano determined to keep practicing, and practicing, and practicing, until finally he arrives on stage to perform Grieg’s magnificent Concerto in A minor. A delightful and inspiring book for all ages!